One of the simplest tools for keeping a home in the family is also one of the least known: a transfer-on-death deed. In the states that allow it, this recorded document lets your house pass directly to the people you name when you die, skipping probate entirely. The heirs avoid the court delay and expense…

Housing remains the most stubborn piece of the inflation picture, with shelter costs climbing near 3.2 percent a year — faster than overall inflation and by far the largest line in most household budgets. For renters and homeowners alike, that steady rise is why the cost of living still feels tight even as prices for…

Housing agencies across the country are working against a deadline that lands in the first half of October. It was set on August 10, when HUD issued a four-page notice to every public housing agency that runs a voucher program, giving them 60 days to bring two special voucher programs back inside a rent ceiling…

A three-page notice filed in the Federal Register on August 10 carries a docket number, a bid window, and a dollar figure that stands in for roughly 1,500 American houses. The document is the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s second announcement of a loan sale it calls HNVLS 2026-1, and the loans inside it…

Three dates now govern this settlement, and only one of them is comfortably far off. September 1, 2026 is the deadline to opt out of the class or to file an objection. October 15, 2026 is the fairness hearing at which a federal judge in Nashville will decide whether to grant final approval. January 29,…

At 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on August 15, a tariff-rate quota took effect on imported quartz surface products, the engineered slabs that reach American homes as kitchen counters, vanity tops and shower surrounds. It was created by Proclamation 11051, signed on July 31, 2026 and published in the Federal Register on August 5. The measure…

Comfortably affording the typical U.S. rental takes $78,488 in annual income. Affording the typical mortgage payment takes nearly $99,800. Zillow published both estimates in its July rental report on August 18, and the distance between them, more than $21,000, is the company’s own explanation for why demand for rentals has not softened even after the…

If a major appliance in your home is on its last legs, the timing of the replacement may matter more than usual this year. Federal tariffs on steel and aluminum have been extended to cover major household appliances, and industry analysts expect that to push prices up. On a big-ticket item like a refrigerator or…

The big federal rental-aid program that helped millions during the pandemic has wound down, and that has left a false impression that help for renters is gone. It is not. Across the country, state and county programs, local nonprofits, and a national helpline still assist households that have fallen behind on rent or utilities. The…

New York’s larger STAR benefit for older homeowners is moving through local school-tax calendars, not arriving on one statewide payment day. Most qualifying seniors under the program’s $110,750 income ceiling are receiving $700 to $1,500 during summer or fall. The range is a common outcome, not a flat check for everyone over 65, because the…